Watsky To Commence India Tour Later This Month

American rapper, writer and poet Watsky is to commence his India tour next week. The versatile lyricist plans to hit New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai on the 15, 16 and 23 of January in a whirlwind tour.

Originally from San Francisco, California, the rapper began his career back in 2006 while still a freshman in college. After winning respected national poetry slams (including the Youth Speaks Grand Slam Finals and the Brave New Voices National Poetry Slam), he began performing across the country on his own dime. He was still a relatively unknown quality till, in 2011, he went viral. Audiences appreciated his verbose and swift rapping style that, coupled with some media savvy appearances and strong online presence, shot him into the limelight.

It's hard to imagine he just had his first major tour in 2012; since then he has headlined three major international tours, performed at over 200 colleges in the United States, and has gathered a phenominal online following.

Now a few years on the artist, who can flow seamlessly from the silly to serious and technical intricacy to lyrical simplicity, has decided to treat his fans in India. Watsky has had experience playing internationally and for eager crowds (but we doubt he’s seen anything like India) and seems eager to perform at every opportunity, with a schedule full of city-stops and performance dates.

After years of being almost shunned by the international music community, India is slowly getting used to the fact that it can attract big name producers for big bucks. 'If the money is there, they will come' seems to have become an accepted mantra within the music industry. So, while it is great to know we are finally on the lists of tour locations for major artists around the world, it is invigorating to see a fresh-faced and relatively unknown talent want to come perform here of his own accord.

To get updates on Watsky’s tour and future releases follow him on Facebook here, or visit his website here. You can watch the video that made him an internet sensation overnight, and effectively launched his mainstream career, in 2011 below.

Words: Aditya Keswani